Water heater cabinet structure



Aug. 27, 1957 c. A. wHl'rlNG 2,804,056

WATER HEATER CABINET STRUCTURE Aug. 27, 1957 c. A. wHmNG 2,804,056

WATER HEATER CABINET STRUCTURE United States Patent O 2,804,056 WATER HEATER CABINET STRUCTURE Carl A. Whiting, Berwyn, lll., assignor to General Electric Company, a corporation of New York This invention relates to improvements in means for mounting and connecting hot water heaters of the domestic type, and in particular, relates to an improved water heater cabinet structure having appearance and external dimensions adapting it for association with countertop kitchen cabinets in the home.

It is becoming increasingly popular, particularly in modern basementless homes, to place electrically heated domestic water heaters in the kitchen and to dimension the storage tank so that a 30 or l0-gallon size fits within a cabinet which can take its place in matching relationship in a line of countertop cabinets, the rear wall of the water heater cabinet being tight against the kitchen wall in common with such cabinets. The former practice was to place the water heater tank in a conventional rectangular cabinet, in which it was necessary to make the connections with hot and cold Water lines of the building from below the tank; and it was exceedingly difficult to make up the plumbing connections in the cramped space available. It has previously been proposed in conventional full-height water heater cabinets to provide a false bottom which raised the cabinet an additional several inches above the floor, and thus increased the space within which to make plumbing connections. In this arrangement the pipe between the hot water outlet connection and the hot water distribution piping of the building rose to the upper part of the tank through an open channel provided at the rear of the casing. It is obvious, however, that because of space limitations such a false bottom cannot be used in counter-height cabinets, and water heaters in such cabinets have been so difficult to install that their commercial acceptance has suffered badly.

Accordingly, it is a broad object of my invention to provide a counter-height water heater cabinet having improved facilities for making the final piping connections; and other, more specific, objectives include the provision of a water heater cabinet pursuant to which risers from the service piping of the building may be run in front of the building wall and the water heater cabinet later pushed into place and final connections made from above the heater tank; the provision of a water heater cabinet having a simplified rear wall structure which provides vertically extending pipe pockets when the cabinet is placed against the building wall; the provision ot a rear wall structure for a Water heater cabinet which will accommodate laterally run, as Well as vertically run, pipes or other plumbing connections; and the provision of a water heater cabinet having a removable top cover and means for securely holding said cover in home position when the cover is placed after the piping connections have been completed.

Other features and advantages ot my invention will be understood from the following detailed description of a presently preferred embodiment read in connection with the accompanying drawings, in which Fig. l is a sidesectional elevation of the water heater cabinet in its final position, portions of the insulation material having been displaced to reveal underlying structure; Fig. 2 is a plan iCC view of the cabinet of Fig. l with the top of said cabinet having been removed to illustrate the water heater as it is prepared for final connection with the previously run plumbing service pipes; Fig. 3 is a partial front sectional elevation looking in the direction of the arrows 3 3 of Fig. 2 but showing the top ot the cabinet having been affixed to the cabinet base; Fig. 4 is a fragmentary top plan View showing the cabinet top in final position; Fig. 5 is a fragmentary front sectional elevation looking in the direction of the arrows 5-5 of Fig. 2, the cabinet top being in place in this ligure; Fig. 6 is a fragmentary side sectional elevation taken through the cabinet top at the location 6-6 of Fig. 2; and Fig. 7 is a partial top plan view of the cabinet showing a modified form of rear cabinet wall.

In Fig. 1 the water heater structure includes a storage tank 1 suitably supported within a cabinet 2 which has an overall height consistent with the conventional counter height kitchen cabinets so that the cover portion 3 of the cabinet will be at the level of the adjacent countersfor example, the counter 4, Fig. 2-when the water heater is in its home position against the wall 5 of a kitchen. It is usual for kitchen counters to have a short, vertically extending rear wall 6, and the cabinet cover 3 is provided with a similar wall portion 7. The cabinet will have a front wall 8, side walls 9, 10 (which may be integral with the front wall), a floor panel 11, and a rear panel 12. Usually, the front, sides, and bottom are welded or otherwise permanently secured together; the rear wall 12 may also be welded thereto or may be fastened to rear marginal fiauges of the side walls by sheet metal screws 14 or equivalent. As appears in Fig. l, the tank has a conventional concave bottom l5, and a convenient way of securing the tank within the cabinet is by setting it over a convex, rigid, saddle 16 which is secured to the floor panel 11 and has an opening to receive a threaded stud 17 extending from the tank bottom and carrying a locking nut 18. The saddle 16 is sized suitably to permit the bottom periphery of tank 1 to rest upon the floor panel 11 so that the tank has adequate stability.

As is conventional, tank 1 has a top stud 20 which accommodates the hot water outlet pipe 21, and an inlet stud 22 into which the cold water inlet connection 23 is screwed. Said inlet connection has a riser 25. Finally, with respect to the basic organization, it is assumed that the water in the tank is heated electrically by the externally applied heating bands 24, which, as is usual, are arranged about the tank at upper and lower portions thereof. A suitable organization of heating elements is described and claimed in Vogel U. S. Patent No. 2,452,214, granted October 26, 1948, assigned to my present assignee. It will also be understood that one or more conventional temperature controlled thermostats (not shown) are employed and that the space about the tank is filled with insulation material which may be of the loose, fibrous type known generally as rock wool. As delivered to the site of installation, the water heater will be a complete unit in which the several piping elements, up to and including the nipples 26, 27 (and perhaps the union fittings 28, 30), will already be in place and made up water tight. The insulation material 29 is sufficiently yieldable to accommodate the piping, which is standardized so that the axes of the nipples 26, 27, will be at known levels above the finished fioor line. in other words, the roughing in dimensions for each size of tank will be standardized so that the plumber may install his service pipe connections in advance of receipt of the water heater. Stich service pipe connections are the riser 31 from the cold water main (not shown) and the riser 32 from the hot water distribution line (not shown). In each case it is presently assumed that the cold water and hot water risers connect with the main distribution p'ping below the floor of the building, but it is obvious that with alteration, the respective risers may be run through the building wall for connection behind that wall or, if installation conditions require, one or both of the hot and cold water lines from and to the heater may be run sidewardly in front of the wall as wil.I later be apparent.

Reference is now made to Fig. 2. The rear panel 12 is shaped on an ordinary sheet metal brake to provide a central rear wall portion which is parallel to the front wall and side portions 33 which extend angularly forwardly so that when the heater casing is in its final position with central portion of rear panel 12 against wall 5, there will be substantially triangular pockets P cxtending the full height of the heater casing. These pockets or passages will have an adequate arca to accommodate the respective risers 31, 32. It will be understood that oor panel 1l is shaped in correspondence with the angularly extending walls 33 of the rear panel 12 so that when the heater is finally positioned, thc building floor will be exposed at the base of the pockets. The upper portion of each rear wall portion 33 has a preferably' rectangular cutout 34 (compare Figs. 1 and 2) which occupies the substantial portion of the width of said wall portion and extends suitably downwardly from the Lipper edge thereof; for example, from 4 to 6 inches depending on the amount of vertical space desired for the accommodation of the final piping connections. These openings 34 accommodate the branching nipples 35, 36. which extend from the respective risers 31, 32, for connection with the unions 28, 30.

lt will be assumed that the plumber has installed the risers 31, 32, and has fitted the elbows to the upper ends thereof, all pursuant to the roughing in dimensions with which he has been provided. He then takes the water heater minus the top 3 and slides it into position with the rear panel 12 against the building wall. He may then, if he is not already familiar with the dimensions, measure the necessary length of nipples 35, 36, and apply these nipples to the riser elbows whereupon final connections may be made to the previously applied unions 28, 30. It will be understood that in preparation for the final connections, the loosely packed insulation material will have been temporarily separated or rearranged so that the nipples 35, 36, may pass through the openings 34 to connect with the respective union fittings as aforesaid. The disposition of the inlet and outlct connections at the upper portion of the cabinet makes it very easy to complete the piping with the cabinet in its home position. The customary BX cable 37, or equivalent electrical conduit, may be run up through one or the other of the pipe channels P and brought into the junction box 38 secured to the inner surface of wall 10. The well known iiexibility of such electrical conduit material makes it possible to introduce it from either pipe channel.

An important feature of my rear panel construction is that either or both of the service pipes 31, 32, may be run horizontally in front of the building wall 5, because the openings 34 are sufficiently wide and deep to accommodate branch pipes disposed one above the other, as suggested in Figs. l and 2. For example, assume that reference character 4 identities a kitchen sink rather than an ordinary countertop cabinet. Riser 31 may serve the common Coldwater supply to the heater and sink by placing a T fitting T (shown in phantom line in Fig. 1) in appropriate position on riser 31 and running a suitable branch pipe (not shown) to connect with the coldwater supply to the sink. The hotwater nipple 21 may be appropriately shortened so that nipple 27 (which would be swung clockwise about 9() degrees with respect to Fig. 2) would come below nipple 35 to accommodate the then necessary 45 degree elbow E (also shown in phantom line in Fig. l) for connection to a sidewardly run branch to the hotwater supply to the sink. Ob-

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viously, similar arrangements could be made to accommodate the location of the sink or the like at the left of Fig. 2. It is important to note that all of the branch piping is in place before the water heater is moved to its final position and the only connections required to ne made after positioning the heater are those represented by the union fittings 28, 30.

To accommodate the arrangement suggested in Fig. 2 where there is no counter or other fixture to the left of the water heater cabinet, there is provided a panel 4U which extends the full height of the side wall l() and is given a finish matching that of the cabinet-for cxample, white enamel. Panel 40 is advantageously channel-shaped and both of the flanges 41 thereof will be pierced with screw holes arranged in standard pattern so that the same panel 40 may be affixed to either side of the casing by thc sheet metal screws 14 with which the rear panel 12 is shown to be attached to the side walls 9, 10. As indicated, it is advantageous to provide a short break or offset 42 at the extreme outer ends of thc rear panel portions 33. A panel 40 will be applied as necessary before the heater is finally positioned and its rear edge will, in home position, abut against wall 5 to conceal the riser 32. lt will be apparent that when an adjacent fixture makes it necessary to run the sidewardly extending branches, above discussed, thc panels 40 will not be required; but in any event, suitable openings might be provided to accommodate such branch runs.

As has been noted, all of the foregoing operations have been conducted with the top 3 removed. Accordingly, means are provided for simply and securely attaching the top after the cabinet itself has been positioned and the piping connection. It will be observed from Pigs. 3 and 5 that the side walls and front wall of the top have an inwardly extending flange 44. l utilize these flanges in association with rigid tongues affixed to the cabinet base for securely positioning the top thereon. For example, to the stiftening gussets 45 fixed to the front and side walls of the cabinet base, i apply thc tongues 46 which are offset upwardly, see Fig. l, so that the front flange 44 will fit thereunder, with the side flanges engaging the side edges of said tongues. In order to allow for manufacturing tolerances, I may rivet the tongues 46 to the gussets 45, passing the rivets through elongated slots in the tongues, as shown in Fig. 2. Thus, although the tongues are rigid with respect to the gussets, they may be driven laterally in either direction to insure that the side edges of the flanges contact the sides of the tongues. Appropriately forward of the rear edges of the side panels 9, 10, I weld or otherwise secure the respective tongues 47, applying said tongues below the upper marginal tianges 48 ol` the respective side walls. By laricing down portions of the side flanges 44, as suggested at 50, Fig. 6, l provide simple tongues which will engage beneath the tongues 47. As clearly appears from the several figures, the bottom edge fianges of the top 3 rest upon the top flanges of the cabinet base Walls, and it is obvious that said last named flanges should be in a common horizontal plane within reasonable tolerances. As a final means of sccurcment. l emboss a narrow, relatively shallow, pocket 51 at the upper edge of the front panel 8 to accommodate a sheet metal screw 52 which enters an appropriate opening in the front flange 44. It will be understood that a certain amount of lateral play may be provided for the screw 52 by elongating the opening in the fiange member 53 through which the screw extends. Obviously. the angle of approach to the screw head will accommodate a screw driver blade.

It will be apparent that other configurations may be employed for the rear panel of the cabinet. For example, as indicated in Fig. 7, the rear panel 12a may be a smooth arc, in which event the rear panel will have only a tangential contact with the building wall 5. It will be clear that the actual configuration of the rear panel must be consistent with the provision of the pipe pockets P and the further consideration that there be adequate clearance between the panel and the tank to accommodate the insulation material.

While there has been described what is at present considered to be the preferred embodiment of the invention, it will be understood that various modications may be made therein, and it is intended to cover in the appended claims all such modifications as fall within the true spirit and scope of the invention.

I claim:

1. A table top water heater structure including a counterheight cabinet having a front wall, side walls extending substantially perpendicularly therefrom and a rear wall characterized by a central portion parallel to said front wall and side portions extending forwardly and outwardly for attachment to said side walls at the rear portions thereof, a base panel secured to said cabinet walls, the rear edge of said base panel following the contour of said rear wall whereby when the cabinet is placed with the central rear wall portion abutting a building Wall, there will be channel structures facing said building wall and extending upwardly from exposed oor portions of the building, said channel structures accommodating building service piping extending upwardly through said oor portions or, optionally, forwardly through said building wall in the zone of said channels, a tank secured within said cabinet, means for heating the contents of said tank inlet and outlet piping connected to said tank, said piping being wholly within said cabinet and having rearwardly directed branches terminating in pipe couplings disposed within said cabinet above said tank, the side portions of said rear cabinet wall having relatively large openings in the zone of said couplings to permit the passage of runs of piping to connect said inlet and outlet piping with said building service piping whereby final connections to said building service piping may be made above said tank and forwardly of the rear cabinet wall, a substantially rectangular cover for said cabinet, and means for securing said cover to said cabinet walls upon completion of said connections to the building service pipmg.

2. Structure according to claim 1, in which the side walls of the cabinet comprise a fixed front portion extending from the front wall of the cabinet to the point of attachment to the forwardly and outwardly extending rear wall portions and a removable rear portion extending therefrom to a position in substantial lateral alignment with the central portion of said cabinet rear Wall.

References Cited in the iile of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,202,222 Quinn Oct. 24, 1916 1,582,881 Kraemer Apr. 27, 1926 1,810,887 Sponar June 16, 1931 2,043,540 Hazeltine June 9, 1936 2,112,655 Morrow Mar. 29, 1938 2,116,133 Allen May 3, 1938 2,223,769 Morrow Dec. 3, 1940 2,240,904 Groeniger May 6, 1941 2,243,249 Craig May 27, 1941 2,303,128 Koppell Nov. 24, 1942 

